The Bottom Line: Small Business Development Center offers invaluable help

LONG BEACH - Karen Kostrinsky knew she and partner Deb Gangwer wanted to begin a business based in cooking, but didn't know how to turn the idea into something viable.

A friend's referral landed the Long Beach resident at the Small Business Development Center, where an adviser helped streamline their ideas, design a website and take advantage of using social media outlets such as Twitter as marketing tools. The services were free.

A year later, their company, Savor Flavor Dining, has been growing. Savor Flavor offers cooking parties in people's homes and cooking classes at different locations such as We Olive and Wine Crush in Long Beach and partners with other merchants such as Bliss on Broadway Spa & Boutique for a food and beauty package.

"I can't say enough of what they've done for us and what we've been able to do," Kostrinsky said of the center. "The idea for Savor Flavor was born from that and everything came together."

Kostrinsky is one of the more than 4,500 small business owners counseled in 2011 by the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Centers Network.

Hosted by the Long Beach Community College District since 2006, the network serves the Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara areas, helping hundreds of merchants expand and enhance their businesses with everything from getting incorporated to packaging the potential company to lenders.

In 2011, the regional center posted stellar numbers, signaling a better economic outlook for an area still showing high (but slow and steadily declining) jobless rates.

According to the center, 2,269 jobs were created in 2011, exceeding its initial goal of 1,472 new jobs for the year. Also, 290 businesses were started, slightly better than the center's goal of 282 start-ups.

"The numbers speak for themselves," said Jesse Torres, regional director for the lead center.

Torres lends much of that success to unexpected state funding. With the help of Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, D-Los Angeles, legislation allocated $6 million in matching funds to the California SBDC program in late 2010. Each of the six California SBDC Lead Centers received a piece of that funding in early 2011.

"The impact of that funding made us able to achieve record levels as far as economic impact," Torres said.

But while other states have dedicated budget line items for their Small Business Development Centers, California's centers aren't guaranteed state funds.

"The hardship that we have is that when we don't have state funding, you have directors focusing on fundraising when they really should be focusing on how do you really get your businesses to grow and enhance your community," he said. "It's such a huge relief when you don't have that nagging at you. Our mission is to be an economic driver for Southern California."

Torres said the SBDC's are once again working on new legislation for those funds.

"Our big push is that we need state funding to be successful," he said. "Without it, it will be a huge loss."